^ %7^^s^ ^^ 



^^ 













^^<^' 

.*=>^, 



,^ 



.^•' vP, 

















"<^ ''ONO'* .^ 







I 





















*J 


























•/V1 






Canary Birds, 



c2 7G> 
51 Itanual 



USEFUL AND PRACTICAL INFORMATIO 



BIRD KEEPERS. 



NEW YORK: 

WILLIAM WOOD 4 CO., 61 WALKER STREET 

1866. 



3r4t3 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, 

By WILLIAM WOOD & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Conrt of the United States, 

for the Southern District of New York. 



B. CEAIGHEAD, PEINTKR, 

81, 88, and 85 Centre si., If. Y. 



\ 



CONTENTS. 



PAOB 

Inteoduction V 

CHAPTER I. 
The Canary Finch. — Its Native Isle. — ^Various 

Kinds. — Choice of Birds. — Manner of Taming 9 

CHAPTER II. 
Bird Cages. — Different Kinds. — Wooden and Wire 
Cage for Young Birds. — School Cage. — Store 
Cage. — Hospital Cage. — Breeding Cage. — 
Glass Cage. — Perches 21 

CHAPTER ni. 
Baths 31 

CHAPTER lY. 
Food and "Water . . ... 34 

CHAPTER V. 
Breeding .41 



iv PREFACE, 



CHAPTER VL 
To Teach Young Birds to Sing . . 62 



CHAPTER YII. 
Aviary Birds and Cages 67 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Room Aviary . ... . . .82 

CHAPTER IX 
Diseases of Canaries 91 

CHAPTER X. 
Wants of Bird Keepers 109 



INTRODUCTION. 



^I^T^ are all lovers of birds — song birds espe- 
^'^•^■^^ cially. How can we help being so ? They 
are at once the most lovely, and innocent, and joy- 
ous of God's creatures. It is good for us to cherish 
this love — healthful to our souls as well as our 
bodies : — 

*' To go abroad rejoicing in the joy 
Of beautiful and well created things, 
To thrill wfth the rich melody of birds, 
Living in their life of music ; 
To see, and hear, and breathe the evidence 
Of God's deep wisdom in the natural world." 

"Oh that I had wings like a dove!" said the 
Psalmist, "for then would I flee away ajid he at 
rest,'^ and it does seem that the proper home of the 
feathered choristers must be in brighter and more 
peaceful regions than those which are darkened and 
deformed by earthly passions and desires ; and with 
this feeling we are inclined to look with indulgence, 
nay, even with some degree of reverence, upon the 
superstition of the Indian, who worships his " Wakon 
Bird/' and believes it to be a wanderer from " Happy 
1* 



VI 



INTEODUCTIOK 



Hunting Grounds" — a messenger from the Great 
Spirit to His children upon earth. 

'' Lord," said good Izaak Walton, as he listened to 
the song of the Nightingale, " what music hast thou 
provided for the saints in heaven, when thou givest 
bad men such music on earth?" 

That the subject of our little work is one that will 
interest many readers, we can scarcely entertain a 
doubt. There are few persons who have not, at 
some period or other of their lives, nourished and 
cherished a feathered pet ; of one of these '■'■ hlythe 
spirits,'^ the universal favorite, the Canary, we pro- 
pose to treat in the chapters of our unpretentious 
book. 

A great many people think that to confine birds is 
cruel. If it were so, indeed, few would be the cage 
birds one would wish to see ; but happily, on the 
contrary, for those wlio, like myself, are fond of the 
little songsters, the moi^e we know about them, the 
more we are satisfied that theirs is a happy prison. 
Kot for all birds by any means ; some would break 
their hearts, if confined in a cage. The birds of pas- 
sage, all those that come and go, should never be 
kept from the sunny skies they seek as winter comes. 
But with the Canary, as well as a variety of other 
birds, reared in cages and knowing nothing of that 



INTR OD UGTIOK yii 

freedom upon which depends almost the existence of 
their wilder brethren, it would be cruel to expose 
them to the misery of being loose, little, shivering, 
trembling strangers, in an unkindly crowd. Poor 
little creatures, if one of them does get out, how 
fast it flies to seek some friendly cage ; it knows not 
the language, the ways, and fashions of the birds 
around it, nor yet does it always meet with the 
kindest welcome from them. Besides, our canaries 
want petting — they have no wish, so their gay song 
tells us, to seek a dirty puddle instead of a crystal 
balh ; to hide from the rain and cower from the cold, 
instead of hanging singing in a warm pleasant room. 
Most people forget to reckon on the birds' social 
habits ; nor do they give them credit for half their 
laving ways. Canaries are often wild and show fear 
whenever approached by those who have never 
shown them kindness. This arises from a natural, 
and a very proper suspicion, of mankind. Their in- 
stinct tells them that the human race are inherently 
savage ; and till they have some convincing proof 
to the contrary, they never change this, their very 
correct opinion. To be teased, frightened, slighted, 
or neglected^ is their too frequent fate.. But we may 
add with a deep feehng of pleasure, there are " ex- 
ceptions" to all rules, and we know that there are 



Viii INTR OB UCTIOK 

many, many gentle hearts ^vho do "love" their 
birds— aye, and hold converse with them too. 

I have known li'tle pets fly all in a flutter to meet 
and greet me, when really I thought they would 
have quite forgotten that they had ever known me ; 
and only let any one nurse a wounded bird, and see 
if it forgets the benej&t received. 

Besides, they are very clever. I am sure if as 
many people lived sociably with birds as with dogs 
and cats, we should have soon a thousand proofs of 
their sagacious ways. Speaking for myself, I know 
quite well by their tones what my birds are want- 
ing — sometimes it may be only a kindly recognition 
of a passing friend ; but a few days ago when two 
were fighting and we took no notice, there was lit- 
tle daabt what the conquered wanted — she called us 
to her assistance as plainly as if she had spoken. 

The editor desires to acknowledge her indebted- 
ness to the following named works from which this 
book has mostly been compiled— the quotations are, 
as near as possible, in the exact words of the origi- 
nals: " Beckstein's Cage Birds," " Kidd on Avia- 
ries," "Adams's Favorite Song Bird.-," "Maling'a 
Song Birds," "Beeton's Book of Iloma Pets," and 
others. 



CANARY BIRDS, 



CHAPTER I. 



/jt'allcb by Liiingeus, Fringilla Ganaria^ 
^^ because it first came, as is generally 
supposed, from the Canary Isles, where the 
species is still found in abundance, singing 
very sweetly, although not, perhaps, so 
scientifically as their richly-attired and bet- 
ter instructed relations. Yoyagers tell us 
that these wild birds of the Canary Isles 
have mostly gray plumage, and this tint 
prevails to a considerable extent in some of 
the domesticated varieties, which are rather 
numerous. White, gray, yellow, green, and 



10 CANARY BIRDS. 

brown, of different shades, and in varying 
proportions, are the common colors of those 
birds bred in confinement ; how the changes 
have been produced, it is now impossible to 
say; climate, food, and intermixture of 
breeds, have, no doubt, each and all had 
some effect in producing them, as by a care- 
ful attention to these matters, the latter 
especially, breeders in the country may now 
calculate with a tolerable degree of certainty 
on the kind of bird they are likely to have 
from certain parents, under certain circum- 
stances. With regard to climate, it has 
been remarked by Adamson, that the cana- 
ry, which becomes in France nearly white, 
is, at Teneriffe, almost brown, and this 
agrees with the general observation of na- 
turalists, that the covering of animals, be it 
fur or feathers, becomes thicker, and lighter 
of color, in proportion to the coldness of 
the climate which they inhabit. We should 
not, however, lay too much stress upon this 
argument, for in this, as in all other northern 



CAlSfARY BIRDS. \\ 

countries in which they reside, canaries 
are so sheltered and protected from the 
weather, that we can scarcely imagine it to 
have much effect upon the economy of their 
growth and structure ; and then, too, the 
prevalence amongst us of the darker-tinted 
birds — greens, and cinnamon browns, and 
the like — militates considerably against this 
theory. 

The exact date of the introduction of the 
canary into England is not known ; it is 
mentioned by Gesner, who wrote in the lat- 
ter part of the sixteenth century, and first 
described by Aldrovandus, in his " Ornitho- 
logy," bearing date 1610 ; the bird was then 
esteemed a great rarity. According to some 
authors, the island of Elba was the first 
European ground on which the canary found 
a resting-place. A ship bound for Leghorn, 
they sa}^, having on board a number of the 
sweet songsters, foundered near this island, 
on which the birds, set at liberty by the 
accident, found a refuge, and the climate 



12 CANARY BIRDS. 

was SO congenial to their nature, that thej 
remained and bred, and would, probably, 
have remained there to the present day, had 
not their beauty and melody attracted the 
attention of bird-catchers, who hunted them 
so assiduously, that not a single specimen 
was left on the island. From Italy the 
birds soon found their way into France and 
German}', from which latter country and 
the Tj^'ol, we now derive our principal sup- 
ply. Canary breeding and training is there 
conducted on a very large scale, and in ac- 
cordance with well established rules and 
principles. In England, canary societies 
have existed for upwards of a century, and 
for the last fifty years they have had annual 
shows and competitions for prizes ; and im- 
mense prices have been given for prize cana- 
ries. Thirty varieties are distinguished; 
these are separated into two great divisions, 
the plain and the variegated ; the former 
being called Gay Birds, or Gay Spangles, 
and the latter Fancy Birds, or Mealy Birds. 



CANARY BIRDS. 13 

The latter are considered the strongest, and 
have the boldest song. Jonks, or Jonquils, 
is also a term applied to those of a pure yel- 
low. There is also a variety called the 
Lizard, the plumage of which is of a green- 
ish-bronze throughout, excepting the upper 
part of the head, which is covered by a 
patch of clear yellow, and this variety is 
looked upon as the nearest of kin to the ori- 
ginal stock. 

The Jonquil, as its name denotes, is re- 
quired to be of a deep pure yellow, entirely 
free from any green tinge. 

In the Mealy Bird, the golden plumage 
of back, breast, and head, appear frosted 
over, or powdered, through the small feath- 
ers., thus producing a whitish edge. 

In breeding the Fancy Birds great profi- 
ciency is shown in judicious pairing. A 
Mealy Bird and a Jonquil being put 
together, the produce will not prove a mix- 
ture of the qualities of the parent birds, but 
the character of one or the other will appear 
2 



14 CANARY BIRDS. 

distinct, and tlie produce of the nest will 
probably show specimen of both kinds. 
Canaries which are blackish-gray, or grayish- 
brown on the upper part of the body, and 
at the lower part greenish-yellow, are the 
commonest and healthiest birds, and have 
deviated less from the original stock. Their 
eyes are dark brown. 

Yellow and white canaries have often red 
eyes, and are not so strong. The reddish- 
brown canaries, with grayish-brown eyes, 
are the rarest ; and in respect to strength and 
longevity, occupy an intermediate position 
between the other two varieties. The bird 
is valuable in proportion to the regularity 
with which it is marked. Those, however, 
in which the body is yellow or white, and 
the wings, tail, and head — particularly if 
crested — yellowish-dun, are considered the 
handsomest birds. Next to these are the 
Grolden Yellow Canaries, with black, blue, 
or blackish-gray head, wings, and tail; then 
the blackish bird, with gray or yellow head 



CANARY BIRDS. 15 

and collar; next the Yellow Canary, with 
black or greenish-yellow head, which in this 
case should have a crest. The gray, or 
almost black canaries, with yellow breast, 
and white head and tail, are held in peculiar 
estimation. Such birds as are irregularly 
mottled or spotted, as well as those uniform 
in color, are considered as of but little 
value. 

The female is hardly distinguishable from 
the male, except that the plumage of the 
latter is generally brighter in color. His 
head, also, is rather larger and longer ; the 
body more slender ; the neck not so short ; 
and the legs longer and straighter. Another 
special characteristic is, that the yellow of 
the temples, and round the eyes, is brighter 
than in any other part of the body. 

Birds which seem moderately shy are 
generally the best. Tame birds are gene- 
rally bought quite eagerly, but too great 
quietness is often caused by illness, and they 
soon die. A real good bird will make a 



16 CANARY BIRDS, 

great fuss, pretending to be a vast deal 
shyer than he really is, hopping from perch 
to perch, twisting his head about, and hav- 
ing many airs and graces. Bird dealers re- 
commend the birds that sing loudly ; and 
this to many is not at all desirable; the 
lower the tone the sweeter and prettier 
many would think the song. 

In your choice of a bird do as William 
Kidd recommends; ^'Sacrifice color to ac- 
complishments; you will never repent it. 
Nature seldom gives us rare beauty and 
great accomplishments united." Do not, 
however, decide too hastily, and examine 
the bird on which you fix your choice 
before purchasing. It may, perhaps, have 
some defect in the plumage, which would 
deteriorate its market value, although in no 
degree diminishing its worth as a songster 
merely. Should the defect be merely a 
damaged tail, it can be easily remedied : you 
have only to draw the defective feathers, and 
their place will soon be supplied with new 



CANARY BIRDS. 17 



ones. Be sure to see that the legs and feet 
of your bird are clean and perfect ; and do 
not leave it to be sent home, but take it 
away with you, if you have to buy cage 
and all. 

When you have purchased a bird, carry- 
it home as carefully and gently as possible, 
having previously prepared for it a comfort- 
able cage, well furnished with seed and 
water : into this you must let it step of its 
own accord, as it will be very tenacious of 
being touched or handled, until it has grown 
quite familiar to its nev/ home and those 
about it. Place a light in front of its cage, 
and the chances are that it will begin to sing 
at once, especially if you provoke it to 
rivalry, by whistling or playing some lively 
air. Kidd remarks that, " The best trait in 
the character of the canary is, that he will 
sing place him where you may. These 
birds very seldom show a sulkiness of dis- 
position ; and even if they should do so, a 

single hemp-seed or a morsel of chickweed 
2* 



18 CANARY BIRDS, 

will set all to rights in a moment ;" and all 
experience goes to show that this amiability 
of disposition is quite characteristic of this 
bird of the Fortunate Isles, whose nature 
appears to be as sunny and genial as the 
clime from which it originally came. 

It is sometimes extremely difficult to get 
newly-captured birds to eat at all, partly 
because that which is offered to them is not 
quite what they have been accustomed to, 
and partly, no doubt, on account of grief at 
their loss of liberty, and fear arising out of 
the strange scenes and circumstances amid 
which they find themselves. They will not 
unfrequently refuse to take any nourish- 
ment, and will inevitably pine and die if 
some means are not taken to induce them to 
art. Dr. Meyer, of Offenbach, communi- 
cated to Bechstein the following mode of 
getting over this difficulty. Place the bird 
in the cage in which it is intended to keep 
it, with plenty of the proper food and drink 
in open vessels ; let it remain undisturbed 



CANARY BIRDS. 19 

for several hours; then catch it, and im- 
merse it in fresh water ; after which, place 
it back in the cage, and again leave it for 
awhile. The employment of pruning its 
wings and setting its feathers straight, will 
divert its attention from the great grief of 
captivity, and its appetite being sharpened 
by the bath, there is little doubt that the 
bird will soon take freely of what is set be- 
fore it, and become cheerful and animated. 
Those birds that at first creep into a corner 
and sulk and refuse their food, are most 
likely to do well afterwards; those which 
eat greedily at once of the artificial food, 
frequently die from the effect of the sudden 
change of diet, or else the unnatural indif- 
ference to the loss of liberty implies that 
they have some disease which impels them 

to eat. 

The following is a new and approved 
method of taming birds : A portion, larger 
or smaller, is cut off from the inner plume 
of the pen-feathers, so that the bird cannot 



20 CANAHY BIRDS. 

hurt itself if it attempts to leave the hand. 
The nostrils of the bird are then touched 
with bergamot, or any other odorous oil, 
by which it is for a time so stupified as to 
perch quietly on the finger, or to hop from 
one finger to another. It may, indeed, at- 
tempt to fly away once or twice ; but this is 
not often repeated, especially if the experi- 
ment be tried in a dark place — as, for ex- 
ample, behind a curtain, which oifers the 
further advantage, that if the bird fall, it is 
not likely to hurt itself. As soon as it sits 
quietly on one finger, another finger must 
be placed in such position as to cause the 
bird to step upon it, and so soon as it is ac- 
customed to hop quietly from one finger to 
another, the main difiiculty is overcome. 
For if when the bird is gradually aroused 
from its stare of stupefaction he perceives 
that its teacher does not use it roughly, he 
will become quite tame. 



CHAPTER II. 

BIRD CAGES. 

^S ^^'^^^8 purchased a bird, the first consi- 
^ deration is, which is the best kind of 
bird cages. 

Of wooden cages those made of mahogany 
are decidedly the best, as they are less likely 
to harbor insects than any other. K soft 
wood is the material it should invariably 
have two or three coats of paint over it. 
Green is the best color ; but the wires of a 
cage should never be painted green, as the 
metal being non- absorbent, the color will 
loosen and peel off, and being pecked at and 
eaten by the bird will cause its death. Wire 
cages of bell or pagoda shape are mostly 
used in this country, and are superior to 
wooden cages, being easily cleaned, and are 
light and elegant in appearance. The bot- 



22 CANARY BIRDS. 

torn of a wire cage has a projecting rim or 
ledge around it, which keeps tlie dirt and 
seeds thrown oat by the bird from making 
a litter ; and as it is simply fastened to the 
upper part by hooks and catches, it is easily 
removed for the purpose of being cleaned. 
Care must be taken that the bottom is 
securely hooked to the top, for many a bird 
has been lost by its dropping off after the 
cage was hung up, and thus releasing the 
bird. The receptacles for food and water in 
the wire cage are very safe and convenient ; 
barrels open on one side are attached to the 
side, not hung below, and glass cups set in 
them, and the open side turned inward. 

For young birds, which are apt to hurt 
themselves against the wires by fluttering 
and sporting about, a Net Cage should be 
provided. This can easily be made of an old 
common cage out of which the wires have 
been taken, and a covering of fine net sub- 
stituted. 

What are called School Cages are some 



CANA E Y BIRDS. 23 

times used for a number of birds. These 
are bo:j^es having a wire front, and solid 
back and sides, divided into a number of 
compartments, each of which is tenanted by 
a single bird, to which access may be ob- 
tained by means of a little door at the back 
of its dormitory. There may be several 
tiers of these apartments, and a single slid- 
ing bottom and feeding trough does for 
each tier, going through the whole length : 
thus, where it is desirable to economize 
space, they may rise one above another like 
a nest of drawers, and form a sort of bird- 
barracks. A single preceptor, a good lark 
or nightingale, may be the drill sergeant for 
the whole company of occupants, however 
numerous ; the little pupils, not being able 
to see each other, will be all the more likely 
to give due attention to the music lessons. 

A Store Cage, with wooden back and 
sides, wire front, and cloth or calico top, 
made about two feet long, and six inches 
high and wide, will be found useful to put 



24 CANABY BIRDS. 

ncv'ly caught birds into ; having no height 
to fly, they cannot well hurt themselves. 

Hospital Cages, in which to place sick 
or wounded birds, are very necessary where 
several birds are kept. A good plan is to 
take the wires entirely out of a cage from 
eight to twelve inches square, and sew round 
the frame, both top and sides, a tight strained 
piece of canvas or flannel. The floor should 
be covered with bran or coarse oatmeal, this 
being cooling as well as soft ; everything of 
wool is objectionable, on account of the 
fibre or hairs which twist round the claws, 
and if not removed will tighten and cut off 
the toes. 

The perches should be movable, that they 
may be taken out and cleaned. If the bird's 
leg is wounded, the perches should all be 
removed from the cage ; but if it is the wing 
that is affected, one perch would be advisa- 
ble. 

Breeding Cages are best made of ma- 
hogany or some polished wood, with one end 



CAKARY BIRDS. 25 

as well as tbe front of wire. Drawers are 
objectionable, as the grating of removing 
them is injurious to young birds, but tbe 
best Avaj is to lay a piece of oil clofli or 
stiff brown paper on the floor of the cage 
already covered with sand ; the paper can 
be drawn out, cleaned, and replaced. 
Wooden boxes for the nests can be hung at 
least half way up, and material for the nests, 
such as raw cotton or hair, supplied. 

Glass Cages are bright and gay ; the ma- 
terial is capable of being wrought into beau- 
tiful forms and combinations, making a de- 
lightful miniature crystal palace. But 
though elegant and easily kept clean, yet 
there is danger attending them, as the slight- 
est chip from the glass might produce death, 
and if the bird can reach the putty, he will 
eat it and die. 

The square or oblong wooden cages are 
simple and common, and the best to hang 
up in an aviary. They are convenient when 
made eighteen inches high and wide, and 



26 CANARY BIRDS. 

just the width of a window, in which it is 
very nice to place them. If one end has 
glass sides for the bath, the amusement of 
watching the birds will be very great. A 
cage like this will hold two dozen birds. In 
drawing-rooms it would look well to have 
the wood match the furniture or the window 
frame ; whatever is the wood it must be 
solid, with no veneers or inlaying in any 
part that the birds can get at. 

These cages can have an eating-room at 
one end, with the walls wliolly or partly of 
glass outside the wire to keep the seed in, 
or they may be supplied with food boxes. I 
think, however, the two shut-in apartments, 
one at each end for food and batliing, is a 
good arrangement. A long, wxU -polished 
round perch should run along the front and 
back of the cage, the front next the room 
particularly, because if the birds are tame 
they will probably, when they want any- 
thing, come and sit in one long line along 
the front, looking at their mistress, and mak 



CAKAEY BIBBS. 27 

ing their meaning generally quite clear to 
her. 

ITothing adds so much to the birds' de- 
light, as well as to their beauty, as to have 
a sort of shelf about five inches wide, on 
which a box full of roses, myrtles, and other 
plants may stand, forming a hedge of foliage 
between them and the window. 

Perches should be round and polished, 
fitting into niches or between the wires. 
Polished deal or maple is the best material, 
after cane, which is at once a natural round 
perch for the bird's foot to grasp, and per- 
fectly light and easily cleaned. The perches 
should be kept perfectly clean ; after wash- 
ing them with yellow soap and water every 
day, they should never be returned to the 
cage until perfectly dry. They should not, 
however, be dried too quickly by heat as 
that would warp them. They should be 
carefully arranged into the cage, so as not 
to be just over each other. A good way is 
to have one across the front, another across 



28 CANARY BIRDS. 

the back, another higher up, farther in the 
cage, and another quite near the top. The 
birds like the high perches best, and the 
higher they roost the better. Another ad- 
visable plan in bell cages is to put a perch 
from the water to the seed cup, another 
higher up, also across the cage. 

The cage will need some attention every 
day, and twice a week the bottom should be 
detached and washed, being careful to dry 
it thoroughly, and cover it with fine river 
sand, or gravel, which can be purchased at 
the bird stores, or procured from the shore 
of the river. It is essential to the health of 
the bird, and must not be marine sand, as 
salt is injurious. 

The practice of hanging birds out at a 
window in a small cage open on all sides, and 
so fully exposed alike to the burning rays 
of the sun and the chilling winds, cannot be 
too strongly reprehended. Great sufTering 
must be at times endured by the little pri- 
soners, whose exposure, when in a wild 



CANARY BIRDS. 29 

state, to the atmospheric inflaences, is coun- 
teracted by the exercise of limb and muscle, 
which it is unable to take in the cage ; this, 
therefore, should always be covered at the 
top when the sun is shining very brightly, 
and muffled at the side on which the wind 
sets with green baize, or other thick material, 
in dull and gusty weather.^ In wet weather 
the cage should not be put out at all, except 
now and then during a gentle summer 
shower, which is likely to be succeeded by 
sunshine. 

Leaving cage birds to the care of servants 
cannot be too strongly reprehended ; by 
these they are generally considered as a trou- 
ble and a nuisance, and their destruction, if 
it be not hastened, is seldom guarded against, 
for " the sooner they are out of the way the 
better." Let the lady feed and tend her pet 
canary, or other sweet songster, herself re^w- 
larly ; ay, let her clean out its cage, too, or, 
at least, see that it is done, and so repay in 

some slight degree tho debt of gratitude 
3* 



30 CANARY BIRDS. 

which she owes the bird, kept a prisoner for 
her gratification. 

These remarks have been forced from iis 
by a keen sense of the wrongs and injuries 
to which our feathered friends are constantly 
subjected, arising from an observation of the 
vast amount of unnecessary suffering en- 
tailed upon them by carelessness more than 
heartlessness. We are persuaded that many 
of the tears which have been shed over dead 
birds, have proceeded as much from contri- 
tion for neglect, as from sorrow for the loss 
sustained ; and our fair readers will, we 
trust, pardon us if we remind them in the 
words of Thomas Hood, that, 

" Evil is wrought by want of thought, 
As much as by want of heart." 

The cage should never, in winter, be left 
in a room without fire. 



CHAPTER III. 

BATHS. 

ivhs like to have a good depth of water 
to bathe in ; at the same time, of course, 
they do not wish to be drowned. If birds 
are ill, a bath seems to be their most univer- 
sal remedy ; they are h3^dropathists. A 
bird looks mopy, and then ensues a grand 
bathing ; a hearty lunch follows, and the 
patient brushes up and returns to active life. 
If a newly bought or unhappy bird can be 
induced to bathe, it is the best of signs that 
it is getting better. 

Canaries should be daily supplied with 
fresh water for a bath ; they will not bathe 
in stale or dirty water. Procure from the 
bird-store, or china-store, an article made on 
purpose for birds, bathing-tubs ; or, if una- 
ble to get one of them, a common vegetable 



32 CANARY BIRDS. 

dish of small size will answer ; one that will 
easily pass through the cage-door, as some 
owners never take the bird oat of the cage. 
After the little pet has bathed, dry the cage 
with a soft towel ; first taking out the tub, 
which should never be left in the cage, as 
few birds take more than one bath in a day. 
If the bird is in a wire cage which can be 
detached from the bottom, it is a very good 
plan, which was practised by a friend of the 
writer. She unhooked the bottom of her 
cage every day, and lifted off the top (the 
bird being on the highest perch), and set it 
on the floor over the bird's bath-tub, filled 
with fresh water. The little fellow seemed 
to like it, for he never failed to bathe imme- 
diately, and splashed the water, hopped 
away, returned and took another dip, and 
sometimes several plunges. The cage was 
then fastened together again, and was per- 
fectly dry. Some care is, of course, neces- 
sary to prevent his getting out, but it will 
be no trouble after a little practice. The 



CANARY BIRDS. 33 

greatest danger in this plan resulted sadly in 
a recent case. The lady did not fasten the 
top and bottom together securely, and after 
the cage was hung from the window the 
bottom dropped off and the bird flew away 
out of her siglit. In aviaries, glass bathing- 
pans are sometimes used ; they can be hung 
up in a wire basket, like those used for 
flowers, in the front of an aviary, where a 
little splashing is likely to do no harm ; but 
when the birds are in a room in a large 
cage, a glass house in which the bath can 
stand is very nice. Have a common square 
bird cage, glazed, the floor being covered 
with sand, and a bath placed within it : we 
can thus have the fullest amusement in 
watching the birds. If some shells are put 
into the water, the pretty creatures will 
stand on them, balancing on the edge, dash- 
ing down their heads, and fluttering their 
wings in the water in an ecstasy of delight. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FOOD AND WATER. 

^(5J0U)Ct)cr much we may feel inclined to 
^y give our pets plenty of such dainties 
as suo^ar, cake, and other rich food that we 
know Dickey is as fond of as any boy of 
sweets, yet it will not do for us to forget that 
plain simple diet is far more likely to keep 
him in good health. 

It is easy enough to accustom canaries to 
eat and enjoy whatever comes to table, but 
in canaries as well as children, in so doing 
we lay the f(.)undation of future disease, and 
early death. While, on the contrary, poor 
people who are not acquainted with even the 
names of these delicacies, succeed in rearing 
healthy, lively, and handsome birds. 

The best regular daily food for the canary 
is a mixture of rape and canary seed, with 



CANARY BIRDS. 35 

a few hemp-seed, more in winter than in 
summer, as it is oily and heating. There 
have been many opinions on the subject of 
giving birds hemp-seed. It certainly does 
tend, homoeopathically, to shorten the dura- 
tion of their lives ; but still, strange though 
true, they cannot live without it. It warms 
their stomach, and possesses an oleaginous 
peculiarity of flavor, which mixing with the 
other food, forms a good general diet. It 
must be given sparingly. It is greyish 
brown outside, and has a hard shell that 
the birds when weakly, or quite young, 
are not able to break; it should therefore 
be slightly cracked before being given to 
such birds. It is white inside, and tastes 
like a nut. The birds are so fond of it 
that they will take it from the hand when 
they will not any other food. 

Eape-seed is a round blackish-brown lit- 
tle seed with a bright yellow kernel, looking 
like the yelk of an egg. 

Canary-seed is the produce of Canary- 



36 CANARY BIRDS. 

grass, and should be hard, bright, and of a 
brownish-j^ellow color, and look wliite and 
flowery when broken through. 

It is essential that seeds should be kept 
where mice cannot get at them. Birds have 
a horror of seed that mice have been among ; 
in flict, they will not eat it unless they are 
very hungry. A bottle or china jar with a 
cover is best to store them in. Birds have 
been almost starved to death by having 
seeds given to them that had the inside eaten 
out by mice, while the outward appearance 
of the seeds was entire. 

Oats or oatmeal ma.y be given with the 
seeds, or bread or barley meal moistened 
with milk, given fresh every day. In sum- 
mer canaries should be supplied with green 
food — cabbage, salad, celerj^, groundsel, tur- 
nip tops, chick-weed, water-cress, if well 
washed, and in winter with pieces of sweet 
apple. They will also relish occasionally a 
little boiled carrot or cauliflower. Sugar at 
rare intervals will not hurt them, but the 



CAN-ART BIRDS. ^ 37 

less of it the better ; they enjo}' water-cracker 
or pilot bread suspended in their cage, or 
stale bread grated may be given to them. 
The English books do not mention a com- 
mon appendage to an American cage; a cut- 
tle fish bone is hung in the cage or placed 
between the wires, and the bird often resorts 
to it for the lime it contains, and apparently 
to sharpen its beak. Birds waste their 
seed terribly, and if they can get into the 
seed cups they scatter it about and spoil it; 
some people have a cover to the cup with 
small round holes in it, or a coarse wire 
gauze over it. It is less trouble to feed birds 
on seeds as a general rule, and one author 
says : "It seems to me the most plain course 
to take— and my own birds have, generally, 
never tasted anything but seeds and vegeta- 
bles, with a little egg^ or a few stale bread 
crumbs, for weeks and months together." In 
the case of both hemp and rape-seed, it 
must be remembered that they are heating 
food, and contain a large amount of oil. In 



38 CAN-ARY BIBBS. 

the summer, birds having as much green 
food as tliey like, often do not eat a great 
deal of seed ; but where they are fed entire- 
ly on seed, it would be necessary to make a 
marked difference between summer and 
winter diet. When birds are exposed to 
some cold, have exercise and green food, the 
rape and hemp, in the proportion of one to 
three parts of canary seed, will seldom be 
found too much. An old bird brought up 
without hemp, would suffer were it given to 
him. 

The seed box should be cleaned out daily, 
the husks of the seeds blown away, and the 
good returned to the box. It is well to see 
at night that the birds have food enough for 
the next morning's breakfast, if they are 
not fed in the morning before daylight; 
great injury has been done by forgetfulness 
of birds' early habits, and a few hours' wait- 
ing for food in the morning, especial!}^ in 
the case of nestlings, is most severely felt. 
Very often, indeed, it gives a check from 



CANARY BIRDS. 89 

which they do not recover. A bird's day is 
from sunrise to sunset. 

A cage bird is very liable to suffer from 
thirst ; he has scattered all the water from 
the cup, and it not being replenished more 
than once a day, he becomes exhausted and 
cannot eat. No owner of a bird should 
retire at night without seeing that the water 
cup is supplied. The fixtures to the bell 
and pagoda-shaped wire cages are much 
safer for the bird than the hanging glasses, 
which have doubtless killed many birds, and 
caused the greatest suffering in others, from 
the water in them being too low to be reached. 

German Paste. — Bruise in a large mor- 
tar, or on a table with a rolling-pin, a pint, 
or quart, as may be required, of rape-seed, 
in such a manner that you may blow the 
chaff away ; to this add a good-sized piece 
of stale bread, reducing the whole to pow- 
der, and well mixing together : put them in 
a wooden box, which should be kept from 
the sun. 



40 CANARY BIRDS. 

A teaspoonful of this powder, with the 
addition of a little hard yelk of ftgg^ and a 
few drops of water, will make an excellent 
food for j^oung birds; to the old ones it may 
be given dry. The powder must not be 
kept more than two weeks, as the rape-seed 
is apt to turn sour, so that when the water 
is put to it it smells like mustard. It is 
best to make a small quantity of this paste 
every day ; under such treatment young 
birds grow rapidly. Stale sponge cake, 
rubbed to powder, with hard white of egg, 
is a good food for birds for two or three 
days after being taken from their parents. 

In the way of live food throw in occasion- 
ally ants' eggs, small red worms, spiders, etc. 
When the windows are kept open in sum- 
mer, hundreds of flies, gnats, and other 
minute ephemera, will find their way into 
aviary cages and aviary rooms, and no small 
amusement is it to watch the gyrations of 
the birds as they topple over to catch their 
prey. 



CHAPTER Y. 

BREEDING. 

0*^1)0 propagation of canaries is attended 
^^ with many difficulties and disappoint- 
ments, which have not been diminished by 
the many expedients to obviate them, For 
pairing, young males, of from two to five 
years old, are usually selected; and expe- 
rience shows, that if such breed with females 
older than themselves, the majority of the 
brood will consist of males. Old birds may 
be recognised by the projecting blackish 
scales of the legs, and by their strong claws. 
Good breeding birds are rare and costly. 
Both males and females have their faults 
of temper or constitution, and it is best for 
the amateur to get rid of faulty birds, and 
to supply their places with others, for none 



42 CANARY BIRDS. 

of the corrections proposed are entirely 
effectual. 

To procure handsome young ones^ the 
best method is, to allow only such birds to 
pair as are both of the same color, and them- 
selves clearly marked ; though, of course, in 
large aviaries, this precaution cannot be 
taken. Greenish or brownish, j)aired with 
light-yellow birds, often produce very hand- 
some offspring. One rule, however, may be 
laid down as invariable ; not to allow two 
crested birds to pair, as the young ones are 
almost always bald, or in some way dis- 
figured on the head. 

Canaries begin to pair about the middle 
of March or iVpril, and may be allowed to 
do so either in a room or cage. Wash their 
breeding cages well and thoroughly with 
soft or strong black soap and water, both 
inside and out, and particularly in all the 
corners, crevices, and joinings, of the cage ; 
to get at which you must use a painter's 
brush, and rub and press it well with the 



CANARY BIRDS. 43 

soap suds into all the crevices and corners, 
for in these places lurk the little minute 
vermin which destroy more birds in the 
breeding season than all other causes put 
together ; — for the same reason also, never 
allow the nest boxes to be made out of the 
corners or any other part of the breeding 
cage, nor be fixed to it ; but have moveable 
boxes to hang on hooks or nulls, as you 
cannot by any possibility keep them free 
from these destructive vermin, unless you 
can take out the nest boxes, and wash them 
clean inside and out ; burning the dirty 
nests ; and giving them a fresh clean box 
and nest also. 

It is a good plan to cover the floor thickly^ 
at first, with sand, and then, if absolutely 
necessary, the top can be raked off; a slide 
is preferable to a drawer, which is open to 
the very grave objection that it affords a 
harbor for insects to lodge. You should 
have two slides, which is simply a smooth 
board, that they may be cleaned and dried 



44 CANARY BIRDS, 

by turns. If one keeps a cage both clean 
and quiet for five weeks, it will be found no 
easy task. 

Place the breeding-cages in an airy and 
light room ; and if the morning sun shines 
into the room for two or three hours, it will 
be much the better. Avoid draughts of air, 
for young callow birds are tender, and can- 
not stand cold streams of fresh air. In fine 
weather, open one of the windows, an hour 
or two early in the morning, when the sun 
shines, and in hot weather leave it open the 
greater part of the da}^, and also for a por- 
tion of the night, provided you prevent 
draughts by keeping the doors closed. Take 
care the window has a secure wire guard. 

The grand principle for you to observe is 
an even temperature, for too much heat is 
as much to be avoided as too little ; the for- 
mer, with want of good air, making the hens 
sickly, producing weakening perspirations, 
and breeding very weak birds. 

The pair which are designed to breed to- 



CANARY BIRDS. 45 

gether should be put for a week into a small 
cage, before being removed to the largo 
breeding-cage. If a male is to be mated 
with two females, the females should be 
previously confined in a small cage, till 
they have learned to agree. In this case, 
the breeding-cage should be divided into 
two parts, by a partition, in which is a 
communication, closed by a sliding-door. 
The male is first put with one of the females 
into one of the compartments, with the door 
of communication shut; When she has laid, 
he is to be taken away and put into the 
other compartment with the second female. 
When she has also laid her eggs, the door 
may be left permanently open, and the male 
allowed to pass from one to the other, and 
they will not be jealous of each other if they 
were old friends. In a room full of canaries, 
the proportion of males to females should be 
one to two, or even tliree. Each male will 
at first select a mate, with whom he will 
always continue on the most affectionate 



46 CANARY BIBBS. 

terms. But he will also pair with other 
females, without afterwards troubling him- 
self much with either them or their eggs. 
It is noticed, that from unions such as these, 
the largest broods and the best birds are 
produced. But we lose in these unions one 
source of pleasure to the bird-keeper : for 
who would like to lose that prettiest of 
sights, when the forwardest nestling arrives 
at the perch, and sits between its parents, 
fluttering its little wings, and being fed by 
them alternately, in the midst of busy and 
delighted twittering. Of course, when one 
bird is the f ither of several young families, 
there is not much chance of his being much 
at home with any of them ; and the mother 
has no business to be always off her nest, as 
she must be, to supply a strong brood all 
by herself, with food. Cheerfulness, too, is 
an important thing in a bird cage, and a 
poor little hen, toiling on all alone, is by no 
means a lively sight. When the females 
can get at their rivals, a general skirmish 



CANARY BIRDS. 47 

terminates in torn nests. One little canary 
hen invariably flew off her nest in tlie most 
reckless manner, and went dashing after her 
most particular enemy whenever she passed 
near her, and, of course, these sudden antics 
were very dangerous, both to eggs and 
young. When the birds are about to build, 
strew line moss and wool on the floor of the 
cage, or have two little net-bags filled with 
soft dry moss or grass, free from stalks, and 
a little soft wool or hair, which is better 
short, as long hairs sometimes get caught 
about a bird's foot. A few nice little fea- 
thers is also a great boon, and some soft 
down for lining. I think it best to have 
two bags, putting that with the moss in first ; 
but the bags should be hung outside the 
wires, to prevent, not only entanglements, 
but considerable waste of strength, as in one 
case the birds dragged up forcibly the whole 
bag into their nursery. Jenny thought she 
was conveying her nest up wholesale, and 
sh? meant to jump upon it and scoop out a 



4-8 CANARY BIRDS. 

hole. Make the bags yourself; do not buy 
them ready prepared, as much of the com- 
fort of the brood depends on perfect cleanli- 
ness. It is absolutely essential that all 
bought materials should be thoroughly 
baked or scalded before they are used, to 
destroy vermin concealed in them. 

One cannot well see the shape of these 
insects with the naked eye ; but, with a 
magnifying glass, thej^ resemble somewhat 
the bug species. If you kill them on white 
paper, it is stained with blood ; in fact, it is 
evident that tliey wholly subsist on the 
blood, which they extract by slow degrees 
from the vitals of those little son^-sters. 
Hence arises much disappointment as well 
as vexation during the breeding season. 
The poor hens often get blamed for neglect ; 
but are not such continuous torments enough 
to make the birds quit their nests even when 
the young ones have been formed in their 
shells? These little vermin, which you can 
scarcely see with the naked eye, so com- 



CANARY BIRDS. 49 

pletely worry the poor hen, that slie can sit 
no longer on her eggs. 

On going into my breeding-room, I have 
found, in one or two instances, hens dead on 
their eggs; the poor things were mere 
skeletons. On examination, I found them 
covered with small insects, and t-he nests 
and nest bags swarming with the same sort 
of troublesome vermin, which must have 
sucked them to death ; the poor old hens 
were sitting on their eggs in their usual 
position, suffering themselves to be worried 
to death rather than quit their charge. We 
do not, however, generally find them in- 
clined to put up with such repeated tor- 
ments; and they are therefore necessitated 
to forsake their eggs or young. 

The birds, sometimes, after breeding pro- 
perly, will, without any apparent cause, 
coolly fill up the nest, generally with some 
white stuff, and quietly forsake it. This is 
usually when they have been disturbed by 
strangers, or when the eggs are addled. 



50 CANARY BIRDS. 

The latter is sometimes caused bj thunder 
or other loud noise. In such case, remove 
the nest, and give facilities for making a 
fresh start ; also change the situation of the 
cage. "When it would be troublesome to re- 
move the nest, it may remain ; but deserted 
nests are bad nooks for insects, and a bird 
is all the better for not being reminded of 
its former failure. A real good, bird for sit- 
ting and bringing up her young is a great 
acquisition, and should have every advan- 
tage ; if she is an inferior bird, otherways, 
first-rate eggs can be substituted for her own. 
Some mischievous birds will break and 
suck their eggs as soon as they are laid ; to 
prevent this, supply them with plenty of 
food every night, that the birds may feed 
early in the morning : if this does not suc- 
ceed, put a little mustard, or bitter aloes dis- 
solved, inside a bad egg ; when they begin 
to peck it, the bad taste may prevent a re- 
petition, and in all probability induce them 
to rear instead of destroying their progeny. 



CANARY BIRDS. 51 

As is the case with most birds, the female 
is generally the builder, while the male only 
chooses the place for the nest, and carries 
the materials. One egg is laid each day — ■ 
generally at the same hour — till they reach 
five or six in number. If the birds be good 
sitters, it is sufficient to leave them to them- 
selves, as they do not approve of any inter- 
ference, and the less they undergo the better 
they will succeed. It is, however, usual to 
take the eggs away as soon as laid, supply- 
ing their place in the nest with an ivory or 
china nest-egg, and laying them up in a box, 
the small end downwards, in fine, dry river 
sand. When the hen has ceased to lay, the 
eggs are put back into the nest to be hatched. 
She lays three or four times a year, 
from April to September ; the eggs are sea- 
green in color, more or less spotted, 
and streaked with reddish brown and 
violet. 

The period of incubation is thirteen days. 
The male relieves the female at the labor of 



52 CANABY BIRDS. 

incubation during a few liours in every day ; 
though the latter flies back as soon as her 
hunger is satisfied, and if the male refuses 
to give up his place, drives him from it with 
beak and claws. She is probably aware 
that he will perform his office imperfectly ; 
will not turn the eggs sufficiently often, or 
will allow them to become too hot or too 
cold. The life of the young bird, even in 
the shell, is very precarious; and it is 
often killed by the discharge of a gun, the 
slamming of a door, or any other loud or 
sudden noise. 

We dislike the practice of hanging cages, 
as people often do, by the side of a window, 
to be out of a strong light. The nest itself 
should be in a shady corner, and either a 
spray of leaves, or a piece of green baize, 
may be hung over the spot where it is being 
built ; but of all depressing things to the old 
birds, and of all hurtful and weakening 
things for the young, the absence of direct 
light and of the w^arm soft rays of the morn- 



CANARY BIRDS. 53 

ing sun, are the worst to which they can be 
exposed. Some young birds, in fact, leave 
their nests less than half fledged from this 
very cause, as nothing adds so much to the 
quick growth of the feathers, as the warm 
(not scorching) sunshine, such as flickers 
down through the leaves of some waving 
shrub ; and the fresh air and moisture of the 
summer dew help the nestlings both in their 
growth and feathering. 

If the hen should have fits while sitting, 
as is very likely in cold weather, it is best to 
put her very gently in a warm bath, laying 
her afterwards on a piece of heated flannel. 
The greatest care is necessary, however, not 
to hurt the bird while holding it in the hands. 

While birds are sitting, the supply of 

food should always be very abundant. 

Where hard boiled Q^g is given, powder 

it fine and mix with grated stale bread. 

Only a small quantity should be given at a 

time, and it should never be left to get sour 

in the cage. Well baked stale bread answers 
5* 



54 CANARY BIRDS. 

very well mixed with pounded hemp-seed, 
some say pounded rape-seed, and Mr. Kidd 
recommends bread and milk; just enough 
cold milk should be poured on grated bread 
to moisten it. The day before the young 
are expected to be hatched, and afterwards, 
some grated bread, soaked in water and 
pressed dry, and a finely chopped up hard 
boiled Qgg^ should be put into the cage in a 
saucer. This should always be given in the 
evening, an hour before the birds' usual 
roosting- time, and again in the morning as 
early as it can be conveniently done; eight 
or nine o'clock will do, but then the even- 
ing supply must riever be omitted, that it 
may be ready for the early hours of small 
birds who often die for want of an early 
breakfast. For bread some persons substi- 
tute biscuit. A second saucer should con- 
tain rape-seed, which two hours before 
has been boiled, and afterwards washed in 
cold water, to take away its pungency. The 
main thing to be attended to, is, that no food 



CANARY BIRDS. 55 

intended for young canaries should stand 
until it becomes sour, as sour food is as inju- 
rious to them as to young infants. 

The chief occupation of the male now, for 
some time, consists in supplying the young 
with food, which he takes almost wholly 
upon himself, probably with a view of allow- 
ing the female to rest after her fatigue. 

If, in consequence of any accident, it 
should be necessary to feed the young birds 
by hand, the best food is wheaten bread, or 
biscuit grated fine, mixed with rape-seed 
crushed small. A. little of this food, moist- 
ened with yelk of egg and water, should be 
given to each bird, by means of a quill, ten 
or twelve times a day. About four quill- 
fuls will be found sufficient for a meal. A 
lady says, "four living nestlings are a com- 
mon thing with us, but then we are not too 
helpful to the parent birds, but let them 
alone. Once the hen died, and the male 
seemed perplexed as to how he was to act 
nurse, so we undertook to help him, and by 



56 CANARY BIRDS. 

feeding endlessly from early morning to 
quite evening, we contrived to rear a tame 
and pretty set of little downy birds." 

Look at the nest of young birds twice a 
week, to see if all is going on right ; if they 
appear red, with their crops full of victuals, 
you may be assured they are doing well ; 
in case, however, you find them of a sickly 
pale hue, without any food in their neck or 
crops, most likely the nest and birds are in- 
fested with vermin. Change their nest box 
and nest for a new one immediately, made 
warm with a hot egg rolled in it, which 
should be done as expeditiously as possible ; 
for many hens are of a verj^ fretful disposi- 
tion, and will not sanction any interruption 
to their maternal care, often forsaking their 
young by too much flmiiliarity. When this 
happens to be the case, feed the young occa- 
sionally with a small bit of the yelk of hard 
egg, dissolved by one or two drops of clean 
water ; add to this a little sopped bun or 
Bponge-cake, forming it into a thinnish paste, 



CANARY BIRDS. 57 

and with tlie point of a wooden skewer feed 
them every hour, to keep up their strength. 
If the old hen or cock should feed^ them, 
you need not. Oftentimes the cock will 
bring them up, although the hen may have 
forsaken her little ones; do not, therefore, 
keep them out of the breeding-cage, but 
give the cock every opportunity to supply 
them with food from his fostering mouth. 
In case he does not do it, they may be taken 
entirely away, and brought up by hand ; 
keeping their nest covered with flannel to 
prevent cold. 

Sometimes, when the eggs are irregularly 
hatched, particularly under a young mother, 
she feels so anxious for the eggs not hatched, 
as to refuse to leave her nest to feed the 
young ones that have already come to life ; 
and thus the poor birds get starved. To 
prevent this, take care everything enticing 
in food, as egg and crumbs, fresh greens, 
etc., is provided and given over night. Then 
watch, to see if the hen feed, or the cock 



58 CANARY BIRDS. 

carry food to her ; if neither be the case, 
you must put the hen off her nest, and if 
she sees plenty of food, she will eat ; and 
the hen, thus induced to take food, will, 
when she sees the young ones gaphig for 
food, feed them, which will induce the cock 
to assist her in this duty ; for when once the 
cock sees the hen feed the little ones, he will 
follow the example. 

The pious and excellent Dr. Watts has 
borne testimony to the harmony of the early 
condition of these birds : 

" Birds in their little nests agree." 

But it is well the worthy Doctor stopped 
here ; for no sooner have the young of the 
canary scrambled from their cradle, than 
they fight like young harpies. 

Up to the twelfth day the young are 
almost destitute of feathers, and need the 
warmth of their mother's wing ; and it is 
sometimes the case, especially in cold, dry 
seasons^ that they never become properly 



CANARY BIRDS, 59 

fledged. The growth of the feathers is 
sometimes promoted by a bath of lukewarm 
water. 

After the thirtieth day, they are able to 
feed themselves, and begin to twitter, and 
when a month old, may be taken from the 
parent birds and confined in separate cages, 
which it is advisable to hang at some dis- 
tance from one another. 

The sooner the little birds will wash, the 
better for them, and their cage should never 
be without green food — chickweed or water- 
cresses. A hard-boiled Qgg^ white and yelk 
finely chopped, is useful for these little 
things. It must be constantly fresh. 

A rather novel and exceedingly useful 
remedy is a little strongish tea, when the 
birds seem sickly. If left in their cage with 
fresh water also, they can take it or not, as 
their instinct leads them, and when they are 
weakly, or liable to cold, it often is good for 
them. 

The more soft sunshine they can have, the 



60 CANARY BIRDS. 

better; but do not leave them to be almost 
baked in a hot sun. There should always 
be a shaded place in the cage ; not a dark 
cloth over it, but a branch or two of some 
tree, making a trembling shadow. Thej 
thrive best with the food of wild birds, such 
as thistle-seed, plantain, chickweed, and per- 
haps more important than all, some insects ; 
ants' eggs are good, and are found in their 
hills; but aphides and most insects are wel- 
come. I doubt if young birds can eat too 
much. The chief danger is their not getting 
enough food. 

The little birds moult at a yqtj early age, 
almost bef>re they can fly. Extra warmth, 
extra food, and extra quiet are at this time 
necessary. If they survive September, it 
may fairly be hoped they will do well. 

" Wonderfully tame these little pets grow. 
I have one who follows my hand about the 
side of a large cage, just like a little dog, 
nestling up against it, and putting its little 
claw out through the wires to take hold of 



CANARY BIRDS. gl 

my fingers ; and as to Bully and Bobby, it 
is laughable to see how they sidle and bow, 
and fluff out their fine plumes, and go edg- 
ing along as long as any one will talk to 
them. One of the prettiest sights is a little 
bird requesting to be fed ; it looks so pretty, 
fluttering its wings and putting up its head." 
Crack a hempseed and present it on the end 
of a finger, and the entreaty of the little fel- 
low for " more " reminds ns of Oliver Twist. 
When the young are from twelve to four- 
teen days old, the hen begins to prepare for 
a second brood, builds a new nest, and has 
often laid her eggs before the former brood 
are fully fledged ; the male taking care of 
the first brood. When a male has been 
paired, in the manner before mentioned, with 
two females, one of which dies before her 
eggs are hatched, the other will receive them 
into her nest, sit on them till they are 
hatched, and treat the young birds with as 
much attention as her own, proving a good 
step-mother. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TO TEACH YOUNG BIRDS TO SING-. 

(^ t a fortnight old, the male may be dis- 
Cz/ tinguished from the female by the more 
connected character of his song. If a young 
bird is to be taught to whistle, it should 
now be separated from its comrades and 
confined in a small wire cage, which should 
be covered, at first, with a linen cloth, and 
afterwards with some thicker material. A 
short air should then be whistled, or played 
on a flute or bird-organ, within his hearing 
five or six times a day, and repeated on 
eacb occasion half a dozen times. '' My idea 
is to play to them while they are at their 
breakfast, and after they have done eating — 
they are always then much more disposed 
to listen. After the bath, again, there is a 
grand twittering time, while they are plum- 



CANARY BIRDS. 63 

iag themselves, and at bedtime, when there 
is always an amazing fuss ; though I doubt 
whether playing to them then would do any 
good." 

The earlier the birds are taken from the 
nest, the freer their song will be from notes 
that are not wanted. The German trainers 
blow on the bird's feathers, and look cross 
and scold it when it sings a wrong note, 
rewarding with hempseed, ar some such 
dainty, when it performs successfully. It 
takes several months to learn a tune per- 
fectly. As a general rule, those tunes which 
have a sort of running scale will be found 
the easiest to learn. It is a fact, that the 
song of birds is not, strictly speaking, natu- 
ral, but acquired at the very earliest age, 
from the notes of the parent singing near 
the nest; just as the child of an American 
is taught bj his parents, and would know 
nothing of his father's native tongue if he 
heard only the French language spoken. 
The knowledge of this fact should be a great 



04. CANARY BIRDS. 

assistance in teaching birds to sing artificial 
songs. A bird, accustomed to hearing the 
mewing of a cat, forgot his own melodies 
and mewed also. He was cured by being 
taken to a neighbor's, and his cage hung 
near another bird who was a sweet songster. 
The very general introduction into an ac- 
quired tune of a few of the bird's own notes, 
is owing to its having been taken into train- 
ing too far on in its life ; even at four or five 
days old, when the nestlings cannot see, it 
appears they can remember the sound of the 
parent's voice ; probably they listen to that 
alone, as at that early age they do not catch 
the notes of other birds, though many may 
be chirping around them. 

In teaching young birds to sing, school 
cages are useful ; either a row of the little 
six-inch square cages, or else a long narrow 
box, wired in front, and divided into com- 
partments. One really good singing bird 
may be hung overhead, and will teach them 
all. They will learn whatever it is they 



CANARY BIRDS. 55 

may hear, and so we had better provide 
them with a good instructor. It is only in 
rare cases that a bird will sing while moult- 
ing, and after the first and second moulting 
season the bird is obliged to re-learn its 
song, and thus learns to intermix the notes 
of other birds. Instances have been known 
in which canaries have been taught to repeat 
short words distinctly, to distinguish names, 
colors, letters, and numbers, and to perform 
certain actions at the word of command. A 
female, in the possession of a person named 
Jean tot, selected from an alphabet, and 
placed in order, the letters of certain words ; 
added, subtracted, and multiplied in Ger- 
man, and indicated, by means of numbers, 
the exact time of a watch. He had also 
three males with him, which were able to 
select letters and numbers which were 
named. Hunger had been the chief means 
used in the education of all ; a species of cru- 
elty without any excuse, and which should 
be wholly condemned. 



^6 CANARY BIRDS. 

Many birds are so self-willed as never to 
sing except they can display their vocal 
powers alone, while the song of others is 
always soft and low, except when excited to 
rivalry by hearing the performance of a 
neighbor. It is important to give them their 
allotted portion of food every day ; for if 
too large a supply is given them at once, 
the result is that they pick out the best first, 
and leave the rest for another day, which 
impairs their vocal powers. 

A bird of two or three years old was 
taught to sing a national air very sweetly 
by some children who had a little bird- 
organ, and they played the tune on every 
occasion possible. 



CANARY BIRDS. 67 



CHAPTER YII. 

AVIARY BIRDS AND CAGES. 

/jj^ %. ilTalinj gives useful information 
^^^ in relation to aviaries, but mostly 
adapted to English, birds and Englisli cli- 
mate. '' The most enjoyable arrangement 
that I ever knew for the cage bird building, 
was a plan adopted for my birds when I was 
a child. We had at that time a good many 
birds kept in different ways ; some loose in 
a room, some in single cages, and others in 
one large cage, standing about six feet high, 
which was divided into separate apartments, 
and provided with gratings to shut off young 
broods. The top had a sloping roof to shed 
rain, and a water-proof curtain was hung at 
night before the wire front. 

" This cage used every spring to be car- 
ried out into the garden, when the green- 



68 CANARY BIBDS. 

house plants went, and there it stood under 
a beautiful scarlet Thorn, till the first cold 
days of autumn warned us to take it back 
to its winter quarters in the hall, near enough 
to the fire to be kept pretty warm." 

In a cage of this size, if birds of only one 
or two kinds are kept, there may be as 
many as ten or a dozen pairs. We generally 
had a few linnets and goldfinches, and all 
the rest canaries ; and all these used to pair 
a good deal, canaries with goldfinches, and 
so on. 

The two sides being separated by a wire 
grating, the young birds were often kept in 
one division, with, perhaps, a party of a dif- 
ferent kind overhead, their own parents still 
being kind to them through the dividing 
bars. 

In the winter, the partitions being opened, 
the whole number, sixteen or twenty, would 
live together happily. 

One very good plan to adopt in having 
this kind of cage, is to have one half made 



CANARY BIRDS, ^9 

permanently separated by a wire divisioa 
from the other, while that other is so ar- 
ranged, by means of brackets, serving for 
perches when not in use, as to support the 
floor of an upper story not more than a 
foot from the top, or at different heights 
going up. 

The advantage of this plan is, that the 
two sides can contain couples which would 
be disposed to molest each other in their 
building, while the small division up-stairs, 
when the cage is in three compartments, 
forms a roomy nursery for any broods of 
young birds that may require a little feeding 
after they have left their mother. If a perch 
or branch is placed near the wires, the old 
bird will very often patronize his children, 
and example is of great service in teaching 
them to wash and make themselves look 
respectable. 

This is of such consequence, that when 
my young birds (bought when just fledged) 
do not do well in this way, I put a very 



70 CANAET BIRDS. 

dandy bird, either Chaffie or Goldie, in the 
adjoining part, that by seeing him they may 
be fairly shamed by the elaborateness of his 
toilette. 

Many people divide lengthways an aviary 
like this ; some, again, contrive a third story 
in winter, at least, by removing the front 
slope of the roof and substituting wire. The 
top should, however, have a ceiling when 
out of doors, for protection from heat and 
damp in the summer time, and from cold in 
winter. 

I myself prefer very much the high divi- 
sions, as the birds seem fond of hopping up 
and down ; they admit also a much nicer 
tree, and show the inmates ofT to greater 
advantage. 

No paint, I need hardly say, should be 
used inside, and no brass whatever. 

If glass is adopted, the maker must be 
particularly warned to put the putty entirely 
outside. 

I do not think anj- \v(-)f)d really answers 



CANARY BIRDS, ^\ 

better than well smoothed and polished deal ; 
but many persons dislike it, and it is merely 
a fancy, perhaps, of- my own, though having 
seen how well it has answered, I have now 
a preference for it. Mahogany is particu- 
larly unsuitable to display the birds' bright 
plumage. 

I am much in favor of a double set of 
food-holders, changing them each day, so as 
to insure a good washing, drying, and air- 
ing. The boxes should be so arranged as 
to be easily got at by doors, as the water 
should be changed twice a day in summer, 
and the seed daily. A mixture of old lime, 
red sand, and chalk is useful in keeping 
birds in health. 

I will give the exact working description 1 
of an aviary cage I have lately had made 
by the pattern, in great measure, of that 
before alluded to. Woodwork entirely, of 
well seasoned deal. Dimensions: height, 
from floor to top, four feet, i. e. from floor to 
spring of slope, three feet, and one foot 



72 CANARY BIRDS. 

allowed for the slope of the roof. Width, 
two feet ; length, four feet. The top slopes 
down from a shelf six inches wide, which is 
at the back. The whole front, back, sides, 
and top, are of wire. The bottom has a 
drawer made in two parts to draw out, and 
a wire partition runs up the cage, and is un- 
booked at pleasure. A green baize curtain 
can be drawn round the cage, and a floor 
(a tray itself) can be put in to divide each 
side into two stories — making four in all. 
The doors are all at the ends, which also 
open entirely. The seed vessels are all co- 
vered, and have drawers lined with glass 
for containing seed and water. They stand 
in the cage, and have small perches fastened 
to them, which look very pretty w4ien 
crowded with birds. The great charm of 
this cage is, that, standing in a window, the 
birds have full air and light, while perfectly 
visible within and without. "When nicely 
arranged, fronted with a few plants and 
creepers, and with a bath, etc., it is extreme- 



CANAB Y BIBBS. 73 " 

]y pretty, and the bird's bright plumage 
makes it ](>ok almost as gay as nowei's, even 
in the gloomier time of year when only 
evergreens ean m;ike up " a wood." 

There is always a doubt as to the agree- 
ment of many birds together ; but it must 
be remembered that two birds alone in a 
cage will fight, if it so pleases them, just 
like cat and dog; while in an aviary, or 
large cage, the space for flight and for dodg- 
ing is far greater if they do fight, and it is 
very rare that more than a single bird at 
once will attack another. When a whole 
cao-e-fuU do set themselves atrainst one indi- 
vidual, the only thing for him is to give him 
another home. But a great deal depends 
on careful management; letting the birds 
get well acquainted, at least b\' sight and 
hearing, before they actually share the same 
cage, letting them loose together, above all 
when they are not hungry, and consequently- 
cross. 

Our birds throve well with their nurseries 
7 



74 CANARY BIRDS. 

out of doors. They had the early sunlight, 
the sweet morn-ing air, the dew, and the 
cheerfulness of everything around, all keep 
ing them well and happy, till, indeed, I 
should now be quite afraid to say how many 
young birds, year by year, used to grow up 
with us. 

When there was a young family old 
enough to leave the maternal wing, a small 
cage would be provided, or a division of the 
aviary prepared for them. In whichever 
they were placed, we took care they should 
have plenty of little round holes (like those 
miserable holes for getting at seed and wa- 
ter), which they could be fed through if 
their parents pleased. We used always to 
strew a good deal of crushed hemp, and 
maw seed, and crumbs of stale bread, upon 
the floor of the cage, as soon as the young 
ones began to leave their nest and to hop 
about, so that afterwards, the same plan being 
continued in their own new cage, half the dif- 
ficulty of teaching them to eat was obviated. 



CANAEY BIRDS. 75 

It is a good tiling to accustom young birds 
to be very clean : baths in fine weather are 
not likely to be hurtful ; but if they do not 
wash, a little sprinkling from a fine brush is 
sometimes desirable to force them to preen 
their feathers. To be in a cage in view of 
the old birds is often helpful here, and at 
any time I would gladly give up one hatch 
of birds for the sake of the pleasure it is to 
see the little fledglings getting their educa- 
tion — the parental scoldings, pecks, and 
pokes, which are so amusing. 

Unless a set of birds are already on a very 
familiar footing with their mistress and ex- 
tremely tame, it does not do to seem to 
watch them much. At the same time when 
a young pair bred up from nestlings, or long 
become tame, have begun to build, they 
will often go on composedly, and allow of 
almost any amount of friendly interfer- 
ence. 

I suspected the other day that one of mine 
had been building a floorless nest, and put a 



76 CANARY BIRDS. 

fino:er into tLe nest to sec : both birds came 
imnfiediatel}^, and, standing at the door to 
watcb me, gave no sign of fear or of displea- 
sure, bat simply wished to know what I 
could be at. A very soft, well-felted lining, 
after all, I found, and directly I removed 
my finger, into her nest popped the little 
bird, and there she sat amidst her fir branch- 
es, with her little black eyes glittering as I 
hardly thought a bird's eyes would glitter- 
she also took crumbs of biscuits or of hemp- 
seed when I held them to her, with evident 
satisfaction. 

I have no faith at all in match-making ; 
in nine cases out of ten it is quite certain 
that the birds suit themselves better than 
we could suit them. Besides, half the amuse- 
ment is seeing what they will do. The pret- 
tiest nest I have had this year was the pro- 
duction of a strong-minded female, who fair- 
ly hunted down a poor little German bird 
not more than half her size. Never was 
anything more amusing than Jenny's perti- 



CANARY BIRDS. 77 

nacity ; first she drove away all tlie other 
birds, daring them to come near her, and 
then she fairly flattered little timid Tuft into 
becoming her most submissive spouse. She 
treated him well, however, and fought his 
battles for him. 

It does not answer when they begin to sit 
very late, because then the second or third 
brood is apt to be made too backward. 
About six weeks generally elapse from the 
time of the first sitting till the next begins. 
And it is very common to have four or five 
broods of canaries in a season. The wild 
birds in Madeira begin to build in February, 
and hatch quite as often. The canary often 
begms sitting from the day on which her 
first egg is laid, thus beginning to hatch in 
thirteen days after. Some people "take 
care " of the eggs for the unhappy birds ; 
but I am sure that the rule of letting things 
alone answers much the best here, and the 
deserted nests and the uncared-for young 
are not usual in the woods and fields — they 
7* 



78 CAKAUT BIRDS. 

are events reserved for places where " every 
possible pains is taken." 

Of all the knotty points in the keeping 
"birds, the knottiest and the most trouble- 
some is to know which will live together. 

My own belief is that much more depends 
on the way of treatment than on tlie birds 
themselves. Of course, if a wild bird is put 
into a cage full of tame and gentle ones, it 
is much like a young gorilla set loose in a 
peaceful family ; the mischief, the spite, the 
tricks, are something inconceivable, — everj 
bird gets cross, — and the mistress is in de- 
spair. Civilized birds do not behave in this 
way, and it should be an unalterable law 
never to put a bird into an aviary, or large 
cage full of others, till it has been kept some 
days, and has got used to the place. Birds 
are npset and bewildered by any change, as 
much or more than human beings ; and the 
catching to ]^ut them in a travelling cage, 
and the journey, — being carried, perhaps, 
through some noisy streets, — is a disturbing 



CANARY BIRDS. 7^ 

business ; and then, again, in the change of 
cages, very often, indeed, new birds do not 
know where to look for the food and water. 
Having once given the new-comers time to 
get perfectly at home with the room and 
their owner, and used to the faces and voices 
of those going in and out, the actual putting 
into the aviary is generally a very quiet 
work ; when in a single cage, too, they have 
wanted so much to be promoted to it! 

At this moment I have before me, living 
for a time in a large store cage three feet six 
inches by eighteen inches deep, a company 
of twenty birds. The cage at night stands 
in a passage, and is covered well over with 
a woollen table-cloth. In the day it stands 
in a window of my sitting-room on the top 
of a plant case. A bath, glazed at the top 
and three sides, is hooked upon the door, the 
amusement of which is indescribable. Birds 
emerge at intervals in parties of two or 
three, and go afterwards to " hang them- 
selves out to dry " on t e sunniest perch or 



80 CAI^AEY BIRDS. 



^ 



in the swing, looking most woebegone. I 
have seen two of these half-drowned crea- 
tures hanging out in the swing together. 
The toilette that concludes the business is 
very elaborate, and it is most amusing to 
see the little things, who want to have credit 
for washing, but do not like the cold ; how 
they put in one leg and pull it out again, 
and finally perch just upon' the edge while 
somebody else is washing, to catch the 
shower sent up so vigorously. And then 
the little cheat shakes itself out, makes an 
immense to-do, and sometimes drives down 
a really washed bird from a sunny corner 
that it may dry itself. 

It is not uncommon in England to have 
quite a variety of birds in an aviary ; such 
as chaffinches, bullfinches, linnets, siskins, 
and goldfinches ; but canaries seem to be 
the only legitimate builders in an aviary. 
The admixture of a number of other tribes 
— (for breeding purposes) is evidently a mis- 
take. At least so Mr. Kidd, who has had 



CANARY BIRDS. 81 

large experience, thinks. He suys: " A 
little calm reflection will show good reason 
for this; seeing bow very dissimilar are the 
tastes and habits of some birds compared 
with others — these courting retirement, and 
feeling annoj^ed when disturbed; those re- 
joicing in mischief, and never so happy as 
when up to their ears in excitement and 
noise." 



CHAPTER YIII. 



THE ROOM AVIARY. 



^jf bcliet)e one of the least troublesome and 
(^ most enjoyable of aviaries is that fitted 
up in a small spare room. ■ It is better with- 
out paper on the walls ; but if it is on, be 
careful not to have the least bit loose, as the 
birds will find it, and tug at it till they get 
off all they can. The birds will peck a 
merely plastered wall, but that will do them 
good. 

The glass sashes have to be covered with 
wire-work, or are, some say, much better 
taken out altogether during the summer 
months. I do not quite agree to that view 
myself, as it seems to me that the means of 
closing a window is not to be despised in 
case of heavy storms ; and, putting aside the 
birds, I have visions of housemaids in con- 



CANARY BIRDS. gg 

fusion when " the water has come through." 
Besides, a permanent open window-frame 
does not tend to warm, in spring and au- 
tumn, the adjoining rooms. Thus I should 
be much disposed, with all due deference to 
those who advQcate the more open plan, to 
advise that the window-sashes should be left 
in place, covered within with a frame in 
which wire- work has been fitted, the top 
sash being let down every day in spring 
and autumn, and in summer both day and 
night. A Venetian blind outside, or be- 
tween the window and the wire, is a great 
gain, for the windows can then always 
be closed directly if any violent storm 
comes on. 

I have known birds often die in numbers 
a few days or hours after a severe thunder- 
storm, to the glare and fear of which the 
poor frightened things had been exposed. 
When any such alarming event is going on, 
I always let in my birds to my own room, 
acd talk to, and pet them, which is an evi- 



84: CANARY BIRDS. 

dent consolation, for no one knows how 
much they get frightened. 

Having a room like this affords great 
opportunities of taming and pla3nng with 
tlie birds : while for those who have a weak- 
ness for " keeping things in their proper 
places," a glass door into the next room 
gives a pretty view of the various antics 
played while keeping the birds quite sepa- 
rate. 

In such a room, however, we must beware 
of mice ; they utterly spoil any food they 
touch for the birds that have to eat it ; in- 
deed, 1 believe it is even made very inju- 
rious by them ; and as people cannot actually 
keep both cats and birds — unless the cat is 
a genius, like one of ours, who knew that 
the birds were "friends," and let them perch 
upon him, and even peck his ears — great 
care is needed to guard against such inroads. 

For the floor of the room it is advisable 
to have oil-cloth, which can be easily cleaned. 
Keep the windows constantly open, closing 



CANARY BIRDS. 85 

them only in damp or cold weatlier. The 
birds will get in the habit of perching on or 
rather clinging to the ledges of the window 
frames. To obviate this, which is very ob- 
jectionable, as it soils the glass, have some 
narrow (say one and a half inch) slips of 
wood fastened to the bottom of every pane 
of glass in a slanting position. By using 
this precaution the birds will slide off, and 
they will soon find you are "just one too 
many for them." It will take birds some 
little time to get used to each other's ways, 
but time will terminate their quarrels, dis- 
agreements, animosities, and battles. War 
will gradually cease, and peace be pro- 
claimed. Never turn in many at once ; let 
two or three in mysteriously, early in the 
morning. This will prevent any unusual 
fluttering, and the " wonder " at seeing a 
few new faces will gradually subside. 

We must caution against the sudden in- 
troduction of a lighted candle into or near 
an aviary at night. It has so alarming an 



86 CANARY BIRDS. 

effect on the inmates, that they will precipi- 
tate themselves headlong from their perches 
and fall about the room in an agony of fear. 
We have known many legs and. wings 
broken in this way, and the sufferers had to 
be put to a premature death. 

Another terrible annoyance to birds of 
an aviary are the cats., especially on moon- 
light nights. They will prowl about, and, 
if possible, jump into the windows; this 
renders wire-work on the lower panes neces- 
sary, if there is any way for the cats to ap- 
proach the window. 

All persons who will have fine birds, must 
be exact in keeping their room clean ; also 
in seeing to their toe-nails being kept pro- 
perly cut, and their feet not clogged up, nor 
fouled with dirt. Carefully provide against 
the entrance of mice ; they poison all they 
touch. 

Mr. Kipp, of Hammersmith, England, had 
an aviary on a large scale, having at one 
time three hundred and sixty-six birds. He 



CANABY BIRDS. 87 

tried many experiments, and having, more- 
over, not a high opinion of the female en- 
dowments, he banished all hen birds from 
his enclosure. He says, "It is deplorably 
odd that when tw^o or three of the gentler 
sex are met together, they can never be long 
in each other's company without there being 
a ' row.' It was so with our colony. We 
thoughtlessly left the ladies and gentlemen 
together, and the results were awful ; but 
we rectified our error. Every lady bird was 
withdrawn, and the gentlemen vocalists left 
alone in their glory." Mr. Kidd had a great 
variety of birds together, and no wonder 
they quarrelled and fought ; besides, there 
was such a crowd that their nests were rob- 
bed and destroyed by those whose only ex- 
cuse was, that "'twas their nature to." 
There was a " thrush that was ready at a 
moment's notice to ' assist ' any of the rival 
malcontents in a crusade against the eggs 
and young. No sooner were the latter born 
— we did succeed in getting a few broods 



88 CANARY BIRDS. 



1 



hatched— than the conspirators went to work 
with an energy and unity of purpose worthy 
of a better cause. Despite the vigorous re- 
sistance of the parent birds, their infant off- 
spring were remorselessly dragged from their 
cradles, suspended in mid-air (like Maho- 
met's coffin), and then dashed forcibly to 
the ground ; they were all tried and banish- 
ed. The sex called gentle it was ibund 
needful to banish for ever." 

From Mr. Kidd's own account it was not 
the females that made the disturbance, ex- 
cept as they were the objects of the ferocity 
of the males, but the latter were the best 
songsterg ; — ^therefore the martyrs were ba- 
nished. He seems to consider the birds as 
only kept for song; but no amount of song 
would compensate us for missing the pretty 
sight of the little fledglings, or being depriv- 
ed of the amusement of witnessing the court- 
ships. 

As interesting a fixed aviary as any I 
have known, is formed from one end of a 



CANARY BIRDS. 89 

moderate sized conservatory. The space, 
about twelve feet wide, was merely wired 
off with galvanized zinc wire, the surround- 
ing glass being also lined with wire. The 
birds here gain the morning sun, but in 
winter, when it is very cold, the glass walls 
are screened from without by shutters. 

The birds in such a position are very 
warmly housed, and the sweet scent of the 
flowers adds greatly to their pleasure. In 
the enclosed space, which is rather narrow, 
a row of evergreen shrubs is placed along 
the back, and grouped closely at each cor- 
ner, the higher trees nearly reaching the 
top ; and again in the centre, three or four 
more are grouped. In an aviary like this, 
it has a charming effect when a pretty bath 
is suspended from the roof in one of the 
wire baskets ; by the use of some strong 
cement the outside may be made pretty, 
ornamented with shells and coral, like the 
plaything that it is ; and there the birds 

will amuse themselves for hours, pretending 
8* 



90 CAXAE7 BIRDS. 

to be frightened, and putting in one foot and 
pulling it out again, behaving for all the 
world just like naughty children. 

The floor beins; formed of tiles or stone, 
and the walls also being solid, there is every 
reason to hope that further precautions 
against rats and mice will be unnecessary. 
Their presence certainly should be guarded 
against with every care imaginable. The 
floor should be covered with two or three 
inches of sand, or gravel, or old mortar 
ground fine. Lime or gravel is about the 
best thing birds can have to peck at. Ever- 
greens, stood in the corners, are pleasant to 
the birds, and a fountain in which they can 
bathe is ver}^ pretty. The perches should 
be made to take out to clean, and thoroughly 
dried. They should be perfectly round and 
polished, that the birds may not catch their 
feet in any kind of crann}^ Have one or 
two perches quite high up. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DISEASES OF CANARIES. 

^jf t gives a most miserable and discouraged 
(^5 feeling to read the long list of diseases 
incident to the canary, and the remedies pro- 
posed for them. It is our firm belief that 
most of these maladies are the result of bad 
management or neglect, and that those who 
really love their birds will not be troubled 
by many of them. 

It is very touching the way the sick birds 
cling to one in their troubles ; they lie look- 
ing at one for help so pitifully, taking so 
gently the offered food, and always seeming 
disposed to nestle so closely to one. After 
all I can say, however, I can but repeat my 
conviction that cleanliness, watercress, and 
abstinence from messes are the best means of 
preserving a bird in health ; and if, after all, 



92 CANARY BIRDS. 

it does become ill, keeping it -vqtj warm — 
not roasted before the fire, but nestled in 
snug] J — is the best mode of both comforting 
and curing it. 

Colds. — Canaries have p. peculiar talent 
for taking colds, and are heard conversing 
in the hoarsest notes. Thev also frequently 
sneeze and shake their heads. For this, 
melon seeds, chopped fine, are beneficial, and 
a piece of Spanish liquorice about the size 
of a pea, dropped into the water-glass, is a 
YQvj simple remedy. If, however, it is left 
there long, I always give a second glass of 
clean water, after a short time in the morn- 
ing, as the birds begin to dislike the toste 
if they have nothing else to drink. For 
sneezing, produced by obstruction of the 
nostrils, pass a very fine feather, dipped in 
olive oil, through them. 

Decline. — This disease, the symptoms of 
which are a general roughness of the feathers, 
a great appetite, and yet a gradual wasting 
of the flesh — is usually the result of an un- 



CANARY BIRDS. 93 

natural diet, which impairs the digestive 
powers. The most effectual remedy, besides 
supplying the patient with the best and most 
natural food, is to make it swallow a spider 
which will act as a purgative, and to put a 
rusty nail into its water-glass, which see"ms 
to give vigor to the stomach and bowels. 
Watercress is a specific for decline in cana- 
ries. The narrow cage which prevents much 
exercise, and the sugar, confectionery, and 
other dainties given them, frequently pro- 
duce decline. 

HusKiNESS OR Loss OF VoiCE. — Young 
males, when moulting, are frequently so 
affected, but birds of all ages and at all times 
may be ; a cold is the general cause. Never 
purchase a husky bird : you may be told it 
is only a little cold, and will pass off. So it 
may, but it will most likely return before 
long, and become a chronic disease, ending 
in decline. The remedial measures are: — 
Keep the bird warm, and give it some lin- 
seed with its rape and canary. Every morn- 



94 CANARY BIRBS. 

ing it should have a small teaspoonful of 
warm bread and milk, and now and then a 
little bit of sponge cake soaked in sherry 
wine. 

Overgrown Claws and Beak. — These, 
although scarcely to be called diseases, some- 
times have as bad an effect upon the health 
of the bird as if they were really such ; for 
the consciousness of possessing claws and 
beak of an undue 'length, and the fear of 
getting them entangled in the wires of the 
cage, or other objects about, will cause it to 
mope and refuse its food : therefore, they 
should be properly trimmed with a pair of 
sharp scissors. Care should be taken not to 
cut them so closely as to produce blood. 
This may always be avoided by holding the 
claw to be operated on up to the light, and 
seeing how far down the toes the vessels ex- 
tend. Your grasp of the bird should be 
firm, yet very gentle, and all that you do 
should be done without haste or trepidation. 

Wooden Shoes, it is a real pleasure to 



VAI^ABY BIRDS. 95 

cure, it is so pleasant to see the bird's relief 
when the load falls off. This discomfort 
arises from a damp or dirty cage, or one not 
sufficiently supplied with clean gravel ; when 
the feet become perfectly clogged with a 
sort of dirty shoe. When bought with 
clogged feet an immediate cure should be at- 
tempted ; we take it for granted no one will 
allow their own birds to get into such a con- 
dition. Take a saucer, containing lukewarm 
soft water, not hot, but tepid, and then care- 
fully catching the bird in one hand cause it 
to stand for at least five minutes, if possible, 
in its shallow bath. 

To take hold of the bird without hurting 
it, it is very essential to keep the hand quite 
outside the wings ; watching an opportunity 
for lightly closing it when the bird has both 
its wings folded. It is best to keep the head 
over the thumb ; and as the feet are very 
often tucked up just when we want them 
down, the mistress's hand is usually forced 
to take a bath with the bird. Jenny, one 



96 CANAB7 BIBBS. 

of my pets, was extremely bad when I got 
her; but after three days of this treatment, 
she was as comfortable as could be; and 
considering how she pecked and screamed 
at being caught at first, it was very amusing 
to witness her complacency as her shoes 
wore out. I always present the patients 
with hemp-seeds while in the bath ; some- 
times they only hold them (taking them 
back to their cage to eat) ; but at any rate it 
assures them that people who give them 
such delicious things, cannot possibly mean 
harm. 

There should be always a little bed of 
rather fine dry oatmeal for the bird to stand 
on for a moment when its bath is over ; this 
dries the feet, and in all ways is useful, 
while its dusting the feathers does not the 
slightest harm. 

Broken Limbs. — When a bird meets 
with an accident of this kind, it should be 
taken very tenderly and placed in a cage 
without perches, with a little soft hay or 



CANARY BIRDS, 97 

flannel (anything thready or hairy must be 
avoided, as the bird is apt to get its feet en- 
tangled) to lie upon, and its seed and water- 
cups on the floor near it so that it may help 
itself without beins^ obliored to flutter about, 
sprinkle some of the seed about on the floor 
of the cage also. Plenty of green stuff, 
chickweed and watercress, may be given at 
such times. Warmth and quiet with this 
treatment will, with the aid of nature, often 
effect a cure in a few days. 

A strange cat last winter by some extra- 
ordinary means made its way into my room 
one evening in the twilight, and before I 
knew of its presence, it had sprung upon 
and knocked down a cage from a table near. 
One bird flew away unhurt, but the other 
was injured by the falling cage, and had its 
leg broken. It was taken up and given to 
me quite gently, and without even attempt- 
ing then to examine the injury, I laid it in a 
cage just such as I described, and kept it 
close beside me for the next ten days : talk- 



98 CANARY BIRDS. 



1 



ing to it seeming to comfort and amuse it 
mightily. The leg was stiff and useless for 
a long time after, but when once it had 
begun to bathe, the recovery was rapid, and 
the bird now is a very fine and healthy one, 
and has built and hatched this summer. 

In the spring of the year birds sometimes 
become mopish, and without any apparent 
cause stop singing and allow their feathers 
to become, and to continue ruffled. Hang- 
ing the bird in the window, or near some 
green plants, will often effect a change. 

Fits. — Sometimes, especially if a bird 
builds early in the year while the weather is 
cold, she will be subject to a sort of fit when 
she begins to lay her eggs or sits ; probably 
cold weather renders her much more ex- 
hausted. In the cold spring this year, one 
of my birds was very ill indeed ; she lay on 
her side with all her feathers fluffed out, and 
did not even stir when her mate in the ex- 
cess of his affectionate disquietude perched 
himself on her shoulder, and setting his feet 



CANARY BIRDS. 99 

firmly together, took her wing in his beak 
and tagged it with all his might to induce 
her to get up. I thought such nursing, 
however, might he dispensed with, so hav- 
ing got some warm water, and with exceed- 
ingly great care given the bird a bath (of 
course holding her in my hand the while), I 
wrapped her up, insensible as she was, in a 
very warm piece of flannel, and having kept 
her warm all day, I had the pleasure at night 
of seeing her eating crumbs of sponge bis- 
cuit (which was her favorite refreshment), 
with considerable appetite. She has never, 
I am sure, forgotten that day's nursing, for 
she is the only bird who now makes no fuss 
at all if I take her "up. The others kick 
and scratch and peck as hard as they can, 
maintaining firmly the difference between 
being taken, and coming of themselves. 

Gapes. — Young birds are excessively 
liable to a disease which resembles that 
called in poultry "the gapes," though it 
does not seem to be at all the same thing: in 



100 CANARY BIRDS. 

reality. The bird mopes and is uncomfort- 
able, ruffles up its feathers, and keeps open* 
ing its bill as if it wanted air. The bill is 
generally dry and yellowish underneath the 
eyes, and the bird has a generally miserable 
look about it suggestive of its real disease, 
an exceedingly bad cold. Some strong 
black tea without milk, linseed, poppy seed, 
plenty of green stuff, and a little liquorice 
in the water, are amongst the best remedies, 
but perfect warmth is the greatest requisite. 
I think this complaint is contagious, and, 
therefore, should always recommend remov- 
ing any other birds from the same cage, or 
if in an aviary, placing the sick bird in hos- 
pital. 

Parasitic Insects. — Canaries who are 
diseased, or not kept clean, are apt to 
be troubled with small yellow lice in the 
gkin, or hid among the feathers. The birds 
are constantly restless, and peck at different 
parts of their bodies. Frequent bathing, or 
water from a syringe, and a little aniseed 



GANAET BIRDS. 101 

mixed with the gravel on the floor, are the 
best preventives. 

I once bought two birds at the door which 
were evidently made very uncomfortable by 
a torment arising from want of bathing — 
very minute red insects like cheese mites, 
which were amongst their feathers. Newly- 
bought birds, for fear of such annoyances, 
should never be mixed at first with others, 
unless they are obtained from a dealer on 
whom one can depend. 

Egg-Rupture consists of an obstruction 
of the passage through which the eggs are 
ejected, and most frequently proves fatal ; 
she often fancies she has laid, and broods 
upon an empty nest : a few drops of olive 
oil applied to the vent is one of the best 
remedies. Great care must be taken in han- 
dling the bird, or the confined egg may be 
broken, a catastrophe that would probably 
cause immediate death. After the remedy 
has been applied, do not let her loose, but 

place her gently upon the nest, and she may 
9* 



102 CANARY BIRDS. 

then be able to lay the egg easily. A warm 
bath is also very good. 

Cancer, unless arrested before it becomes 
developed, is a fatal disease, and is thought 
to be contagious (it will be better to separate 
the infected bird from its companions at 
once). It alwaj'S attacks the foot or the bill, 
which become much swollen. The curative 
process is to keep the cage constantly clean, 
so that no particles of dust or dirt may ad- 
here to the scirrhous part, and to bathe it 
frequently with sweet or olive oil, and wash 
with lukewarm milk. 

Want of Appetite usually occurs after 
breeding, moulting, or other sickness : in 
this case take about equal parts of millet, 
canary, rape, yellow, and a little hemp-seed, 
mixed with the same quantity of clean 
moistened garden loam ; knead well to- 
gether, then dry the composition, cut it up 
in small pieces, and feed it as required ; it 
will keep a long time. 

Scabs on the Head may be best and 



CANARY BIRDS. 103 

most easily cured by feeding on light and 
cooling food, such as lettuce and rape-seed. 

Epilepsy is brought on by too rich food. 
Keep the bird quiet and free from sudden 
alarms, and feed on lettuce, rape, and canary- 
seed. Grive no hemp-seed for a while ; it is 
always fatal. 

Moulting is always a trying time ; it is 
sometimes dangerous to young birds ; it 
commences when they are from six weeks 
to two months old, and lasts several weeks. 
You will observe that the birds lose their 
natural vivacity, and sit moping about with 
their heads under their wings, and soon the 
bottom of the cage will be strewed with the 
shed feathers. All you have then to do is 
to keep them quiet, and free from draughts. 
At this time they require warmth, and as 
they have little appetite, it is better to give 
them as much variety in their food as possi- 
ble, also being careful to crush for them 
any hard kind of seed like hemp, as they 
are very weak. A rusty nail or a shred of 



1 04 CANAE Y BIRDS, 

saffron in the water glass is a useful tonic. 
And if the bird should be attacked with anj 
sort of fit, some authorities recommend dip- 
ping its feet in warm water, or dashing a 
little cold water over it. 

Hang them in the sunshine, and give them 
any nourishing food thej may fancy. Let 
them have a lump of sugar to peck at. 
Supply them with green food, and keep the 
floor covered with sand or gravel. 

If the moulting proves unusually tedious 
and distressing to the bird, it may have some 
sponge cake soaked in sherry wine ; very 
little wine, and some of the wine might be 
blown over its feathers. 

DiAERHCEA, — This is frequently a fatal 
disease with canaries, as with other cage 
birds. The bird attacked with it constantly 
voids a white fluid matter, which causes 
great inflammation of the rectum. The best 
remedial measures are as much natural food 
as possible. A rusty nail placed in the 
drinking cup, and a little hard-boiled ag^^ 



CANARY BIRDS. 105 

may be given. A piece of chalk may be 
put between the bars of the cage for the 
bird to nibble, or some scraped chalk scat- 
tered on the floor. If these remedies fail, 
I have not much faith in anything else. 
Green food to be omitted. 

Constipation is most effectually relieved 
by green food. 

Rupture or Surfeit is not uncommon 
with improperly fed birds, from their eating 
too much food, though of nourishing kinds, 
producing an inflammation of the bowels. 
Belief is sometimes obtained by a spare diet, 
with a little salt, alum, or a rusty nail in the 
drinking vessel ; anoint any skin which has 
become bare with lard. 

Accidents. — The best way to accustom 
a bird to fly, when it is old enough to do so, 
is to let out a few of those who are quite 
accustomed to it, and then, having drawn 
down the blinds, or, still better, closed any 
muslin curtains, the bird will hop out of its 
cage peaceably, and when it has once exa- 



306 CANARY BIRDS. 

mined the room well, will ware glass suffi- 
ciently. 

If unfortunate accidents do, however, hap- 
pen to birds getting loose, I think the best 
thing that can be done is merely to keep 
them wrapped up warmly for a day or two, 
feeding them with egg or milk from a quill, 
if their heads have been badly bruised, as 
often happens. Should they meet with a 
fall or blow so severe as to stun them in 
their rapid flight, a few moments generally are 
sufficient to bring them to themselves, and 
they must be held in the hand or put into a 
soft cage to recover, as otherwise they begin 
at once to beat about in a great fright : a 
little cold water dropped on the head and 
bill, is the best thing for them ; and after 
such escapades, the cage should be shaded 
for an hour or two to give the patient a 
little time to rest, when, if it is not seriously 
injured, it will soon be again quite comfort- 
able. 
Obstruction of the Kump Gland. — In 



CAI^AEY BTBDS. 107 

every bird there is a gland just above the 
tail, which secretes the oilj substance neces- 
sary for oiling the feathers, and preserving 
them from the effects of rain. As in capti- 
vity birds rarely get wet, they sometimes 
neglect to use this gland, and it swells, dries 
up, and even ulcerates. The bird sits still, 
with the tail bent downwards, and frequently 
pecking at the rough feathers on the affected 
part. Apply an ointment of uusalted butter 
and sugar, or enlarge the opening of the 
gland with a needle ; but the latter, though 
it cure the disease, destroys the gland, and 
the next moulting season the bird dies for 
want of the oil to soften the feathers. An 
ointment to be procured at the druggists' is 
effectual. It is composed of litharge, white 
lead, wine, and olive oil. 

We have now given a tolerably complete 
list of the ills and casualties of canary life 
in a state of confinement, with their appro- 
priate remedies ; though we think that, so 
far as ladies are concerned, the non-doctor- 



108 GANAR Y BIRDS, 

ing system is the best, as thej may be en- 
tirely mistaken as to the nature of the dis- 
ease with which their birds are affected, and 
give medicine that would take life. With 
moderate but constant care of their little 
pets, proper food and cleanliness, they will 
rarely have to refer to this part of my book. 
The canary is not a delicate bird by any 
means ; but if properly cared for, will keep 
in good health and full power of song for 
many years. 

The love of birds, and the increasing num- 
ber of ladies and gentlemen who possess 
these little enliveners of the house, has called 
for this book, which we hope will make 
bird-keeping as easy as it is delightful. 



CANARY BIRDS, 109 



1 CHAPTER X. 

WANTS OF BIRD-KEEPEES. 

(^ mongst the various things found useful 
C;/' in keeping birds, I may mention, first, 
the cages, varying from the cheapest and com- 
monest forms to the largest and most elaborate 
aviaries — these have been herein described. 

A tray for jllacing all the apparatus on. 

A few tin canisters, or glass preserve- 
jars, or even common bottles, without corks, 
for containing the seeds ; " without corks," 
because of the danger of small pieces being 
swallowed by the birds ; glass stoppers may 
be used. 

A bread-grater is essential ; and if there 

are many birds, a small marble mortar will 

be serviceable, for rubbing down hard-boiled 

eggs. A cofiee-mill will be useful, because 

easier to work than a mortar. 
10 



110 CAITART BIRDS. 

A glass dish for a bath ; with a wire bas- 
ket, for suspending it in the aviary. 

A sieve, for sifting the seed or sand from 
the husks or dirt, will be wanted. 

A piece of hard wood, twelve inches 
square, made on the principle of what 
housekeepers call a chopping-board ; that 
is, having a back to it, and a low strip or 
wall on each side. On this place your hemp- 
seed, to crush it with a hard rolling-pin. 
After, using it, scrape and scald the board. 

A spatula, or apothecary's knife, and a 
glass spoon, both of which must be kept 
sweet and clean. 

To cleanse the floor of an aviary by re- 
moving the sand, a hoe will be needed. A 
trowel also, for scraping the corners of the 
floor. 

The sand should be coarse, or rathei 
gravel. 

Of course, you will keep well supplied 
with sponges, flannels, nail-brushes, seed 
and bath glasses, to replace broken ones. 








°o 

















^ 
<" , 








,0^ . 







^ 



HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 

^^ SEP 84 

W=!!^ N. MANCHESTER. 




UBRARV OF CONGRESS 



■?ffS64366 



